Thesis (M.M. (Security))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2013. / Soon after the ANC acquired the leadership of this country there has been a series of service delivery protests in most of the municipalities. Several studies have sought to explain the causes of these protests and many have come to the conclusion that they are caused by the slow pace of delivering houses, electricity water and sanitation to the local communities. Most of the existing work has discussed the problem from the point of view of politicians and members of the community. To date, no research has elected to focus on the view of the employees of the municipalities to which the grievances are mostly directed. Using a qualitative research that surveyed municipal managers, ordinary employees as well as community members in Bitou Municipality, this study argues that poor governance, structural reasons, social reasons, systematic reasons are some of the causes of service delivery protests in the municipalities. The research has also uncovered a litany of reasons that contribute to service delivery protests and government practice which fuel support or hinder service delivery.

The study explores the contribution made by study tours on oversight in the Limpopo Legislature during the period 2004-2009. Oversight and its impact on service delivery is described and examined. Key to the study is how the contribution of study tours on oversight has been construed by staff and committee members in the Limpopo Legislature. The study was conducted from a qualitative perspective through interviews, focus group discussion and documentary analysis. The results of the study show that lack of common understanding on oversight rendered the lessons drawn from study tours meaningless. Capacities to discharge the oversight function and leadership have been identified by the study as essential to committees and the legislature respectively. The findings show that this is most likely the first study on the contribution of study tours to oversight function within the legislative environment in the country. It is therefore significant because it sets out the background for future academic research on the topic.

This research study intended to evaluate the impact of Local Government Performance Management System (PMS) on service delivery using Tshwane’s Roads and Stormwater division. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / (M.B.A.)

As the public sector continues to face competitive challenges from the general public, the need for better service delivery and increased productivity has become extremely important. The increased need for optimum service delivery in public sector institutions like the Ministry for Home Affairs has had significant impact on its operations. However, little is known about the challenges faced by the Ministry for Home Affairs regarding the causes of the inefficiency. A range of organizational factors can affect the nature, effectiveness, excellence and novelty of service provision to members of the public.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Decentralisation is the transfer of power, responsibilities, capacities and resources from the centre to the sub-units of the government. The main objective is to foster the capacity of local government to deliver services to the local communities in an effective manner.1 In a multilevel system of government, various institutions are established at different levels of government to deliver goods and services to the people. In delivering goods and services, these institutions usually combine efforts within the same and different levels of government. As a mechanism for improved service delivery, decentralisation has become increasingly important in the recent past together with the enhanced citizen participation in decision making process in the matters that affect the people. However, for decentralisation to be effective in achieving its intended objectives, it should be supported by intergovernmental relations and cooperative governance. Intergovernmental relations exist between and across various institutions and actors.2 They are relationships which develop or exist between governmental units of all types and levels in a multilevel system of government.3 These relations are significant in a multilevel system of government because it is impossible to distribute powers and functions among governments within a nation state into watertight compartments.4 The IGRs help in dispute resolution that may emerge from the overlap of powers and functions across tiers of government consequently hampering the smooth functioning of the government system.

Thesis(M. A.(Communication studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / Twenty-three years since the transition into the democratic government, the South African post-apartheid government continues to grapple with the challenges of recurring trends of youth protests. The post-apartheid government has been experiencing violent protest actions resulting from dissatisfactions with poor service delivery or lack of social services, unemployment, slow pace of transformation in some South African socio-economic spaces, specifically institutions of higher learning and agitation for affordable access to tertiary education. Many young people demand social change through protest action, which often results in destruction of public infrastructure for this method seems to be an effective way of communicating grievances (Mbindwane, 2016). A first trend in youth protest is related to economic issues and social service provision. This qualitative study explored how high rates of unemployment amongst the youth and poor service delivery was a concern and a motivation for protests. The study of youth protests in the Fetakgomo-Greater Tubatse Municipality in the Limpopo Province was used as a case study, with the protests being used as a tool of communicating socio-economic challenges. Unemployment amongst the youth and poor service delivery in the municipality were challenges that motivated young people to actively communicate their dissatisfactions through toyi-toying (street protest). The municipality has been reported to have the highest rate of youth unemployment, standing at 53, 5%, in spite of the 18 mines that operate in the region (Statistics South Africa, 2016). A second motivation for youth protest trend in post-apartheid South Africa is affordable access to higher education. Exorbitant tuition fees, annual increments, and agitation for affordable access to tertiary education have made headlines since September 2015 when the Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande, announced that university fees were going to rise by 11, 5% in the 2016 academic year. The study revealed that tertiary education has become a commodity in the country and many students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds could not afford to pay for their fees. The drastic fee increments also exceeded expectations of those earning enough to pay for their children’s education, to an extent where they felt that the cost of education was clearing their pockets. The study further showed that the funding mechanisms failed to keep up with the ever-increasing tuition fees. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and other student loans/bursaries could no longer provide full bursaries as students’ tuition rose exponentially. The final trend of youth protests studied in this paper related to transformation and decolonisation of academic spaces – the case of #RhodesMustFall campaign. The sluggish transformation in South Africa, particularly in institutions of higher learning, first triggered student demonstrations at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and eventually spread to almost the rest of South African universities. The study further discovered that the presence of the Rhodes’ statue at UCT prompted a variety of emotions and rage among students, predominantly the previously marginalised. It appeared to be a constant reminder of colonial oppression and slow pace of transformation in the academia. Amongst other things, the study found that students pressed for the removal of all symbols of colonialism, from renaming streets that are perceived to carry the apartheid legacy, decolonising the curriculum, and advocating for greater representation of Black people in senior management positions, specifically the women as they were less represented in the past.Through in-depth qualitative interviews with selected youth, university management representatives, government representatives, and media archival materials, the study examined the concerns that shaped the trends and the nature of youth protests in the post-apartheid South Africa and explored how activism and protests were not merely a social agitation, but tools for communicating youth social and economic experiences.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2006 / Refer to document

Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2006 / The aim of this inquiry was to gain a deeper understanding of the service delivery in the community by Polokwane municipality as a third sphere of government. Moreover, not much research has been conducted in this field especially in Limpopo Province. The latest policy document on Transforming Public Service Delivery stipulates that public services are not a privilege in a civilised and democratic society, they are a legitimate expectation. Hence meeting the basic needs of all citizens is one of the five key programmes of the government’s Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). From the literature review, it was evident that service delivery is essential in the communities and the municipality has a critical role to play. Therefore this study also aims to examine the problems and challenges the community is confronted with during the provision of services and also reflects on the strategic importance of the municipality in service delivery. This information may be used as a point of departure in showing the municipalities the perception of communities and their level of satisfaction and serves as a yardstick in terms of their effectiveness in delivering services to the community. In order to achieve this goal one individual and two focus group interviews were conducted. The participants ranged from the youth, adults, to people with disabilities and the elderly. The main patterns of concern that emerged from the data related to the low levels of satisfaction among the community in terms of service delivery in general. From the analysis of data it was realised that the lack of proper service delivery impacts negatively on the members of the community. It would probably be advisable for the Municipality to take note of these results and concerns in an effort to improve and ensure effectiveness in this sphere as stipulated in the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery and the Reconstruction and Development Programme documents.

<p>There is a realisation that urbanisation has overstretched the ability and efforts of central governments to serve from the centre, thus, giving rise to the search for a robust decentralisation policy that vests urban local governments with some level of autonomy.1 It is in this context that decentralisation has become critical in order to sufficiently respond to the varied service delivery challenges brought about by increasing urbanisation. However, all efforts to capacitate urban councils through the process of decentralisation are futile if the urban local governments lack the necessary financial means to fulfil their responsibilities.</p>

<p>There is a realisation that urbanisation has overstretched the ability and efforts of central governments to serve from the centre, thus, giving rise to the search for a robust decentralisation policy that vests urban local governments with some level of autonomy.1 It is in this context that decentralisation has become critical in order to sufficiently respond to the varied service delivery challenges brought about by increasing urbanisation. However, all efforts to capacitate urban councils through the process of decentralisation are futile if the urban local governments lack the necessary financial means to fulfil their responsibilities.</p>